"What on earth is happening here??"
A delicate young man, whose gender was difficult to define at first glance, stood motionless in the middle of a vast sky, his eyes scanning around in utter confusion.
His sweet, attractive face looked slightly amused at himself, the knitted eyebrows showing his struggle to comprehend the situation he was currently in. It all seemed to defy the scientific principles he had studied diligently all his life.
"A transparent, airy body like this… does it mean I'm really dead?? But… spirits actually exist? How is that even possible? Hmm… from a single sperm, implanted into an egg, forming cells, tissues, and finally a complete human body…
Uh… so when exactly does this thing called a soul come into existence? Isn't it supposed to be that when you die, that's it—end of story? If that's true, then how could an afterlife exist? Hmph!"
His soft, pale-orange lips murmured lightly, with a tone of reluctant acceptance toward his current predicament.
Yet, as he looked around at the galaxy-like sky filled with countless stars—an environment where no human should survive or float—paired with his transparent body that passed effortlessly through everything, he had no choice but to accept that he was, indeed, in a spiritual state.
"So… now what? Should I just float around here waiting for some Grim Reaper to pick me up? But… which country's Grim Reaper would it be for someone like me, holding dual nationality? Do they have some sort of inter-reaper council meeting before they come? Ugh! My head hurts."
The handsome young man murmured to himself, drifting aimlessly through the sky, hair flowing in the wind and a white lab coat fluttering bizarrely—evidence of his previous profession as a scientist.
"Hmm, well, while waiting for this so-called Reaper, I might as well explore. If I'm dead, I might as well enjoy a little cosmic sightseeing… though it doesn't look anything like our galaxy."
He began observing his surroundings carefully, analyzing the stars and celestial bodies—clearly more curious than mournful. Despite his death, he appeared to revel in exploring the unknown universe, something no living human could ever reach without special equipment.
Yet, honestly, it was hard to say whether he truly felt sad about his death. Deep down, he only felt frustrated, regretful, and annoyed, rather than sorrowful.
"Whoa! What is this?? It looks solid… and with this texture, I can't even touch it! Huh… what a shame. But it's shiny… must be some kind of metal… or maybe even something more valuable. Hmm… what if I analyze its composition? Maybe I could use it to invent a cool new toy! And this one, and that one…"
Cough. Let's just say that this spirit had its usual concerns about death, like any other, but with an overly strong scientific instinct—hence the unusual alertness and curiosity.
A little backstory before this exceptionally beautiful, ethereal young man—who could pass for a celestial being in ancient attire—died:
Everything began with the birth of "Bai Cha", an orphan with no biological parents. Even Bai Cha himself wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to meet them.
Abandoned as a newborn in a forest, he was almost eaten by a pack of wolves until fate intervened: a scientist from a nearby secret research facility, collecting plants for research, saw the baby near disaster. The scientist rescued him and brought him back to the lab to consult with colleagues about the infant.
The secret research center was run by 15 genius researchers, each without family, who sought to pursue their work in secrecy. After much discussion, they decided to adopt the child under the care of a couple among them who couldn't have children due to chemical experiments, naming him "Bai Cha".
Thus, Bai Cha grew up with 9 fathers and 6 mothers, all geniuses of world-renown caliber—a truly unusual family.
Bai Cha absorbed their obsession with science from a young age. By 13, he had already passed university-level exams, his once quiet homeschool life suddenly shining with brilliance.
At the same time, a villainous group attacked the lab to force the parents to create something for them, resulting in the deaths of all 15 guardians—an event that left Bai Cha devastated.
After losing his family and home, Bai Cha took the last six wolves—his final family—and entered the city to begin work, using his education to accomplish the impossible: creating cures thought unattainable by the global scientific community. His fame spread instantly.
Driven to cope with the loss of his 15 parents and find their killers, Bai Cha studied obsessively, learning relentlessly to expand his knowledge. Even after the wolves passed away, he plunged back into work, creating medicines, weapons, technology, and synthetic foods as if each invention was a gift from his lost family.
By the time he was around 30, a group hired him to exact revenge for his family. Once that was completed, Bai Cha immersed himself in research again, completely absorbed, indifferent to the outside world.
Unfortunately, his creativity led him to invent things that triggered human greed, eventually causing his death, much like his 15 adoptive parents.
"Damn it! Even before dying, I had to destroy my toys… when I wanted to make so many more! Hmph! Why couldn't they just ask nicely instead of destroying my home and toys? Then they call themselves warmongers? That's cruel!"
He murmured in frustration while floating through the void, recalling his past.
"Should've listened to Mom 8… don't share your toys… and Dad 5… seriously! Even showing them to the lab could get me killed!"
Bai Cha continued, unaware of the immense impact of his creations—treating world-changing inventions as mere toys, as his adoptive parents had done since childhood.
"Eh? What's this?"
A monotone voice, almost AI-like, suddenly sounded.
"What?! A Grim Reaper that looks like a floating child?!"
Instead of replying, Bai Cha approached the glowing golden orb, poking it curiously.
["Hey! Don't touch others so carelessly,"] it scolded, awkwardly.
"Sorry! My hands are just too curious… can't help it," Bai Cha said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
The orb transformed into a faintly humanoid, black-suited child spirit, glowing more brilliantly than Bai Cha himself, like a tiny god.
["I'm not a Grim Reaper,"] the spirit clarified, massaging its temple.
"Oh? Then what are you?"
["I'm the spirit of the world. A floating world under your feet, not your original Earth. Every world evolves, and its world spirit supports chosen humans to lead the world through crises. But this time… I need you, from another world, to intervene."]
"Wait… you want me to save the world?"
["Sort of, but you won't fight. You'll just support them—be their hidden strength."]
"So, what do I do? Why did you pull me here without asking?"
["You have unending desire in your heart. Here, you'll discover, create, and explore freely, without interference… but you must help these humans. Fair?"]
"Create anything I want… research freely… hmm, sounds suspiciously easy. Or is it difficult?"
["Simple. Reconcile a couple's misunderstanding and help them rebuild a warm family. That's it. I'll give you three boons:
A strong, resilient body
The Creator's Eyes—see properties of all things
A life-story book connecting you to key humans to guide your mission."]
"Really… such good things exist?"
["Oh! And my world is larger than yours, with dungeons, ruins, magical materials, legendary beasts… all for your research."]
"Fine! I'll do it! No matter how difficult, I'll do it!"
And with that, the world spirit engulfed him in golden light, sending him plummeting toward the new world.
"Phew! You're persistent to the very end, you monster. Was I delivered a monster at birth?!"
"Eh!?!"
Even as a newborn, he was abandoned and sold to a lab as an experiment, seeing only black-and-white shapes and faint sounds—haunted by the spirit of his past mother.
"Ugh! Return, you foolish spirit! I want a rematch!"
Bai Cha screamed, ready to confront the world spirit one more time.
World Spirit: "Life in this world will be easy and enjoyable!" // smiling commercially
Bai Cha: "Sold to a rogue lab before even a day old… easy and enjoyable, my foot!!!" // screaming for consumer protection
✅ End of Chapter 1